Acetylene-generator.



No. 64I,43I. 7 Patented Jan. I6, I900.

G. 8. BOWERS.

ACETYLENE GENERATOR.-

(Application filed July 22, 1899.)

(No Model.)

Iii--l- Nrrn STATES GEORGE SMITH BOWERS, OF SPRING GROVE, MINNESOTA.

ACETYLENE-GENERATOR.

srnoIFIcA'rIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,431, dated January16, 1900.

Application filed July 22, 1899. Serial No. 724,811. (No model.)

T0 00% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE SMITH Bow- ERs, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Spring Grove, in the county of Houston and State ofMinnesota, have invented a new and useful Acetylene-Gas Generator, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for the generation ofacetylene gas, and the prime object in view is to pro; vide improvedmeans by which water in regu lated Volumes may be supplied automaticallyto the generator in such a manner that the increments of water willflood the carbid, thereby expelling all the gas from the generator andpermitting the same to be removed and recharged without the possibilityof the gas escaping into the room.

A further object is to provide an improved construction in which readyinspection of the parts is possible, so that stoppages in the op erationcan be corrected; also, to arrange the parts to overcome air-locking ofthe siphon,

and also to prevent the escape of gas from the generator through thewater-feed devices.

With these ends in view the invention consists in the combination, witha generator and a bell-controlled water-feed mechanism, of a trapped.water-supply pipe connected to said generator, a head-plate fixed to theupper end of said trapped pipe, a reservoir supported on the head-platein spaced relation thereto and to the receiving end of said trapped-pipeto leave an open space between said elements for the free circulation ofair, and a siphon having its long leg extended through the bottom ofsaid tank, across the air-space, and terminating in the trapped pipe,the short leg of the siphon terminating above the bottom of saidreservoir.

To enable others to understand the invention,l have illustrated oneembodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, and in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sectionalelevation through an acetylene-gas apparatus having a water-feedmechanism for the generator constructed in accordance with thisinvention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view through the water-feedtank, a part of the generator-connecting pipe, and the siphon.

The same numerals of reference are used to indicate like andcorresponding parts in both figures of the drawings.

5 designates a generator of any suitable type. 6 is a connectingpipe,and 7 is the waterfeed tank. The pipe 6 does not have directcommunication with the tank 7; but communication between the pipe andtank is established by the employment of a siphon 8, the latteroperating under certain conditions to transfer the liquid contents ofthe tank 7 to the pipe 6, which conveys the water to the generator. Thissiphon is erected in a vertical position to lie within the limits of thetank 7, .the curved end or bight of said siphon terminating on a planebelow the open upper edge of said tank. The long log of the siphonpasses through the bottom 9 of the tank, said long leg being securelyfastened to or sup ported in the tank bottom and extendi'ngbelow thesame, so as to terminate in the upper part of the pipe 6. The short legof the siphon terminates at a proper distance above the bottom of thetank,so as to permit a small quantity of water to remain in the bottompart of the tank 7. On the upper extremity of the pipe 6, above a trap10, formed in said pipe, is a plate or head 6, which serves as a supportfor the tank 7. ported on the plate by suitable means, such as lugs, toelevate the bottom of the tank above the plane of the plate,and thus anairspace 7 is provided between the tank and the plate 6 for the air toenter freely to the trap, thus overcoming any tendency of the siphon tobecome air-locked.

The pipe 6 is bent or otherwise constructed to form a trap 10, thelatter being located in close relation to the bottom of the tank, andsaid pipe 6 has one endthereof connected detachably to the generator bya coupling 11 .of any suitable style, thus permitting the generator tobe removed from the apparatus subsequent to the exhaustion of the carbidcharge therein for the purpose of renewing the charge in the generatorwith fresh active carbid. The pipe 6 is also provided at a pointcontiguous to the generator with a cook or valve 12, which may be of theordinary stopcock variety, or a three-way valve may be used, if desired.

It is to be observed that the reservoir is open at its upper end andthat it is supported Said tank is sup on the head-plate in spacedrelation to the same and to the receiving end of the trapped pipe. Thisarrangement of the parts is advantageous, because, first, the operationcan be observed at any time; secondly, ready access to all the parts ispossible, so that the location of stoppages can be ascertained andeasily corrected, and, thirdly, the free-air-circulation space betweenthe head-plate and the reservoir prevents the siphon from becomingair-locked.

The gasometer-tank 13 is provided with a base 14, having a conicalcondenser 15, which extends well up into the water-bath contained insaid tank, thus exposing a large area of the condenser to the coolingaction of the water in said tank. The gas-pipe 16 has one end thereofconnected to the pipe 6 at a point between the trap 10 and the cook orvalve 12, whereby the trap serves to prevent the gas from the generatoror from the gasometer from passing through the siphon-pipe and findingits exit through the tank 7. The gaspipe 16 has a branch 17, whichextends into the condenser 15 in a manner to discharge the gas into thecondenser-chamber for circulation therein andimpingement against thecool walls of said chamber to effect the condensation of the aqueousvapors in the gas and the drying and cooling thereof. From the apex ofthe conical condenser extends a short pipe 18, which lies in a differentvertical plane from the branch pipe 17 and extends through the liquidcontents of the tank, so as to discharge the gas into the fioatable bell19.

As one means for supplying the water-feed tank 7 with a proper quantityof water and for regulating the supply of water to said tank 7 in unisonwith the vertical travel of the bell I contemplate the employment ofmeans adapted to supply water to the tank 7 from the gasometer-tank 13.A water-pipe 20 is made fast with the gasometer-tank at a point belowthe normal water-line therein, one end of said pipe 20 extending overthe tank 7, so as to discharge the water thereto. In this water-pipe isa regulating-valve 21, having an arm 22, provided with a slot throughwhich passes a vertical trip-rod 23, the latter having its upper endattached in a suitable way to the gasometer-bell. Said trip-rod isprovided with the buttons or other suitable projections 24 25, which arearranged on opposite sides of the valve-arm 22, one of said buttonsserving to lift the valve-arm on the ascent of the bell under theaccumulation of gas therein for the purpose of cutting off the flow ofwater to the tank 7, while the other button serves to depress thevalve-arm on the descent of the bell and open the valve for the purposeof supplying water to the tank 7.

'The operation is as follows: The several parts of the apparatus havingbeen properly assembled and water having been supplied in any suitableway to the trap 10 to form a seal therein, the generator is charged withcarbid and coupled to the pipe 6. The bell settles in the tank to openthe valve 21 and permit the water to flow from the pipe 20 into thewater-feed tank 7. The water accumulates in the tank 7 until itsubmerges the siphon 8 and rises to the dotted line indicated by thedrawings. The short leg of the siphon thus becomes filled with water, sothat the atmosphere-pressure on the liquid contents of the tank will setup siphonic action through the siphon 8, whereby the water-will flowfrom the tank 7 through the siphon into the trap 10, overflow thelatter, and pass through the pipe 6 into the generator. The waterattacks the carbid and fills the generator to about one-half of itscapacity, thus producing acetylene gas, which passes through the pipe 6,the pipes 16 17, the condenser, and the pipe 18. The accumulation of gasin the bell lifts the latter for the trip-rod to operate the valve andshut off the continued flow of water to the tank 7. The gas may beconsumed at the burners by drawingit off through the servicepipe 26; buta reduction of the available gassupply permits the bell to again descendfor the trip-rod to open the cock 21 and the water to flow through thepipe 20 into the tank 7, whereby the siphon becomes active to supply asecond increment of water to the generator. The tank 7 and the siphon 8therein should be so proportioned as to supply two charges of water tothe generator in such quantity as to flood the carbid in the generatorwhen the second charge of water passes thereto, and thus the gascontained in the generator is expelled therefrom, so that the cock 12may be closed to cut oil communication between the generator and thegasometer. The coupling 11 may now be manipulated to detach thegenerator from the pipe 6, and the flooded generator may be carried outof doors without permitting the odor of the gas to contaminate the airin the room in which the ap paratus is located. 7

Changes may be made in the form and proportion of some of the parts,while their essential features are retained and the spirit of theinvention embodied. Hence I do not desire to be limited to the preciseform of all the parts as shown, reserving the right to vary therefrom.

It will be understood that the water-feeding device which has beendescribed is adapted for use in connection with a plurality ofgenerators arranged in different planes, the operation thereof beingidentical with that above specified.

Having thus'described the invention, what I claim is- The combinationwith a generator, of a trapped water-supply pipe connected to saidgenerator, a head-plate fixed to the upper end of said trapped pipe, areservoir supported on the head-plate in spaced relation thereto and tothe receiving end of said trapped pipe to leave an open space betweensaid elements for the free circulation of air, a siphon having its longleg extended through the bottom of said tank, across the air-space andtermi- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as nating in the trappedpipe, the short leg of my own I have hereto affixed my signature in thesiphon terminating above the bottom 01": the presence of two witnesses.said reservoir, and a bell-controlled Water- GEORGE SMITH BOWERS. feedmechanism for supplying Water to the Witnesses: reservoir on the riseand fall of the gas-bell O. K. DAHLE,

substantially as described. H. NARvEsoN.

